Question

Research online law libraries and the Internet for sources concerning information on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), state and federal medical marijuana laws, privacy for drug testing, and drug testing in the workplace

Discuss the case study including all of its relevant topics;

Analyze whether a reasonable accommodation is appropriate or inappropriate.

ADA Accommodation for Medical Marijuana Case Study

An Arizona woman was fired from her job for using medical marijuana, which was legally obtained for medical reasons related to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She is considering whether to sue her former employer for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and ADAAA. She had been in a serious car accident just over a year ago and the Jaws of Life were used to extricate her from her demolished vehicle. When she came out of her coma and after she was released from the hospital, she suffered from tremors and panic attacks. She informed her former employer before being hired that she had the required certification from her physician allowing her to purchase marijuana under her state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law and had a registration card for verification. The medical marijuana aids her in alleviating anxiety and keeping her in a calm state necessary for her to function steadily in any work she maintains. She does not use the substance during the work day, but uses it before she goes to work and at bedtime. She claims she does not sense the proverbial “high” that most people associate with smoking marijuana. She advised her former employer that if drug testing was required, she would test positive for the medical marijuana. The employer hired her anyway, leading the woman to believe that her use of medical marijuana was not an issue for the employer. The employer maintains the company has a zero-tolerance workplace. Within a month of her employment as a data entry clerk, she was randomly selected to be drug tested. Again, she advised her employer of her allowed medical marijuana use, and also informed the testing site lab where she signed a consent form to be tested. As expected and as she advised, she tested positive for marijuana and resultantly was terminated. She contacted the Human Resource Department to protest her termination claiming she should be given an ADA accommodation, but the HR representative informed her the company follows federal law in this regard to medical marijuana use because they conduct business with the federal government. Arizona treats employees using medical marijuana as a protected class. The woman is contemplating suing the company for wrongful termination and discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ADAAA, and violations of her state rights as a protected class employee under Arizona law. She believes she should be reinstated in a same or similar position with back pay and an accommodation given to excuse her from drug testing due to her medical disability, which interferes with basic and daily life and work-related activities unless she is able to take her prescribed medical marijuana.

Answer 1

Answer:

For ages, marijuana legalization has been a subject for discussion. Despite several countries allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, federal laws define marijuana as a substance under Schedule 1 and consider it to be an illegal drug. There are persistent concerns about working conditions for the use of medical marijuana.

ADA is the US Disability Act requiring employers to adapt and accommodate eligible disabled persons. It is a statute banning discrimination against individuals discriminated against in all fields of life, schools, employment, etc.

A disabled person is described in the Law when:

If he or she has experienced a significant emotional or behavioral disability leading to complications and serious mental stress.

Has ample evidence of such a deficiency.

Has a special deficiency.

The resilience of ADA and ADAAA conditions is also applied properly under these situations. As women face one or more conditions than those above.

The ADAAA is the U.S. Disability Act Amendments Act, first passed by Congress in 1990, which was signed in 2008 and became effective in January 2009. Civil law supports people with disabilities in the working world, at school and in other areas. The ADAAA also specifies that if possible the employer must provide an employee with a disability with accommodation, but that such housing is provided by the employer.

Federal law categorizes and does not count marijuana as an illicit substance for medicinal use. The use of medical marijuana is also not covered under ADA under federal law. The ADA did not need medical marijuana accommodation by Federal courts. The 9th United States in 2012 In James v. the town of Costa Mesa the Court of Appeals determines that, while the plaintiffs were "gravely unpleasant," and the medicinal use of marijuana was approved by the American State, the ADA did not justify the use of cannabis by the complainants. The same applies to the court, that the plain language of the ADA only protects prescribed medical treatments The Federal Controlled Substances act, such as marijuana, does not seem to make professional once these medicines are expressly prohibited.

State regulations make medical marijuana more lenient. The use of marijuana has been legalized by several states. But most states that allow their use are not seeking help from employers for work smoking or poisoning because the use of marijuana is legal.

The Supreme Court of Massachusetts voted in 2017 to give the workers the right to fair hospitality under the State Disability Act. The Barbuto v. Advantage Sales case – when an employee is dismissed for a positive marijuana drug, she can take a look against her leaders for disability-discrimination. The law on medical marijuana in Massachusetts states that no right or privilege is to be denied to patients as a result of their medical marijuana use.

Simile, a Rohde Island court agreed to promote and allow the use of medical marijuana under state disability statute.

The employer then deals directly with the federal government, but in this situation women will apply to accommodation according to the state law and the above-mentioned case facts and the supporting evidence from ADA and ADAAA.